Unit 3- Supporting Children
E1
There are 5 current legislations I have identified:
-Data Protection Act 1998
-Children Act 1989
-Equality Act 2010
-The Children Act 2004
-Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
E2
Data Protection Act 1998 states that all personal information must be kept safe and only accessible to the right people at all times. This is to ensure that confidentiality is maintained in the setting at all times to keep yourself and the children safe. It also states that confidentiality must not be broken under any circumstances unless the child is in danger.
Children Act 1989 allows children to have equal opportunities and therefore progress and have privileges such as free education. It was first put into place in 1991 in England and Wales and ensures that each child is treated as an individual. Without this act children wouldn’t have any rights, and the main idea of the act is to protect children.
Equality Act 2010 is put into place to prevent discrimination and inequality from happening in and out of the setting. It provides rights for all kinds of people for example, people in employment, education, or buying and renting land or property. The act works to stop many different types of discrimination/inequality for example, direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, discrimination arising from disability, equal pay and secrecy clauses.
The children Act 2004 follows up with the ‘Every Child Matters’ programme. This focus’ on 5 different points:
-Being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving learning, making a positive contribution to society and achieving economical well being. The first few years of a child’s life are critical and it is therefore vitally important that each setting is following these 5 aspects whilst working with children.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 is put into place to control any contact between children and vulnerable adults and any people who may bring harm to them. The act is quite details and focuses on 3 key principles:
-Inappropriate people should not be working with children or vulnerable adults.
-Checks should be done in all settings and easily to ensure any person who comes into contact with children or vulnerable adults is appropriate.
-Checks should be done on a regular basis to ensure they are appropriate and not at any time been barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
E3
Following the correct policies/procedures is vitally important for keeping children safe in the setting. For example the confidentiality policy. This is put into place to ensure that all private and personal information is kept safely locked away and only accessible to the right people. This is important as if any information was exposed to the wrong people this could put children in great danger.
The health and safety policy is also very important and provides a set of health and safety rules/guidelines which must be abided by. These rules ensure that children are kept safe in the setting and remain safe and healthy within the setting.
E4
Policies are put into place to promote fair, just and inclusive practise within the settings. An inclusion policy ensures that children reach their full potential as it is put into place to make sure every child is involved no matter their race, gender, disability etc... It is important for all children to feel valued and feel although they have a place in the setting. This helps the child build trusting relationships which can further the child’s development and means they are more likely to be happier and more confident to try new things within the setting.
Another policy which promotes fair, just and inclusive practise in the setting is the discrimination policy. Similarly to the inclusion policy this ensures that nobody is being discriminated against despite age, gender, race, disability etc... In a setting it is vitally important that every child feels happy to express themselves and